The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) has given credit to Maryland's churches for killing a gay
marriage bill.
In a blog post titled What Happened
in Maryland? The Churches Spoke Up!, the nation's most
vociferous opponent of gay marriage praised the church for blocking
the state from becoming the sixth to legalize the institution. The
Maryland House decided to shelve the bill on Friday after supporters
conceded it would fail.
“So what changed?”
“Religious faithful in the state
spoke up. Clergy and lay people. Blacks, Hispanics and Whites.
Catholics, Baptists and Pentecostals. All came together in a big way
over the past two weeks. Pastors meeting with delegates. Bishops
rallying the faithful. Everyone coming together in Annapolis to
stand for marriage. And it made the difference.”
In
a Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN) segment, Bishop Harry Jackson, an ardent opponent of gay
marriage in the District of Columbia, made a similar pronouncement
and declared he and his supporters would “stop gay marriage in its
tracks.”
Neither noted that supporters from the
start worried that the bill would face a steep incline in the House
or that
NOM had threatened to oppose Maryland GOP lawmakers who supported the
bill.
NOM
is also fighting against a proposed gay marriage bill in Rhode
Island.